Suggested schedule
- 08:00
Fushimi Inari at dawn
Climb the tunnel of vermilion gates before the crowds arrive and the morning light is soft.
- 10:30
Kiyomizu-dera & Higashiyama
Visit the hillside temple, then wander the stone-paved slopes of Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka.
- 12:30
Lunch: yudofu
A simmering tofu hot pot in the temple district near Nanzen-ji.
- 14:00
Arashiyama
Walk the bamboo grove and the strolling garden of Tenryu-ji on the city's west side.
- 16:30
Kinkaku-ji
See the Golden Pavilion glow in the late-afternoon sun.
- 18:30
Evening in Gion
A kaiseki dinner, then a quiet walk along the lantern-lit lanes by the Shirakawa canal.